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Bloomberg jets get anti-missile defense, poâ folks do without.
Mayor Bloomberg Installing Anti-Missile Devises [sic] On His Private Jets(the misspelling of "devices" is theirs, not mine.) NEW YORK (CBS) Mayor Bloomberg is paying a high price to keep himself safe from terrorists. Heâs installing something on his private plane, usually reserved for presidents and high-ranking dignitaries. CBS 2âs Cheryl Fiandaca investigates. Investigates, does she? The whole tone here suggests that Bloomberg is doing something wrong, but there is no effort to spell out exactly what that is. Why not? Extreme wealth has many advantages, just ask Mayor Bloomberg. I lack first hand experience with those benefits, but I had sort of guessed that they existed. He doesnât travel on commercial airliners, only on his companyâs private jets. And because he can afford more than just luxury, CBS 2 Investigates has learned the mayorâs planes will also have very sophisticated, very expensive security systems installed to prevent a terrorist attack. Itâs the ultimate status symbol for the extremely rich. The 35 million-dollar Falcon long range jet. Billionaire mayor Michael Bloomberg has 3 of them. But apparently luxury isnât enough. Sources say fear of terrorists armed with shoulder launch missiles is prompting Bloomberg Financial Corporation, the company that made the mayor a billionaire to, this August, install passive anti-missile systems on 2 of the companyâs jets which the mayor uses. The price tag? Two and a quarter million dollars a piece. âWhen a missile is launched at the plane, it redirects the guidence in the missile toward that simulation. Itâs taken off course and it doesnât hit anything and eventually it explodes in the air and thatâs the end of that,â explains aviation expert Charles Slepian. âWeâre going to see more and more of it as technology advances to get the cost out of the systems to make them more affordable for corporate aviation,â says Lance Fera, Vice President of Tag Aviation. Heat seeking shoulder launch missiles have been used successfully for years. They can be easily fired from nearly every vantage point when a plane is most vulnerable, during landing and take off. And thatâs not all, âIt can hit a plane waiting to depart, on the departure line. It can hit it in the fuel tank and destroy that aircraft and possibly the one in front of it and the one behind it, and create a chain reaction,â adds Slepian. The technology isnât new, the military has used passive anti-missile devises on itâs planes for years. The system is also on Air Force One. One devise [sic] now available to civilian aircraft is Baeâs Matador, which uses heat transmitting lamps to confuse the missile and deflect it off course. Experts say the errant missiles donât have enough explosive power to do any real damage, and rely on hitting a planeâs engine for maximum impact. But even this system isnât foolproof. And Slepian says it may not be worth it, âHereâs the problem, there are a number of false responses, often the guidance system is activated and there are no missiles and it has to be reset and thatâs expensive." So what can you do if youâre a commercial passenger and canât afford the luxury of a private jet and the safety of a system like a passive anti-missile devise? The answer, not much. Oh, the horror of not being a billionaire. The mere millionaires at CBS News are obviously jealous. A congressional research group claims over the past several years the FBI estimates indicate there have been 29 instances where civilian planes have been hit by shoulder fired missiles causing approximately 550 deaths. Congressional leaders say there are nearly three quarters of a million shoulder launch missiles available in the world, and some are in the hands of terrorist groups including al Qaeda. And with prices that start at $5,000 they arenât difficult to get, which is why companies that can afford this extra protection are buying it. This morning when NPR Marketplace mentioned the possibility of missile protection for airliners, their guy declared, "after all, Uncle Sam gave thousands of them to the Afghan rebels in the 1980s." He neglected to mention the much larger number of Soviet SA-7 and derived missiles that have been provided to terrorists all over the world before, during and since the Afghan conflict or that these, not the US Stingers, were involved in almost all missile attacks on commercial aircraft. Also neglected was the "shelf life" of the Stinger, which has long since expired. It is possible to overhaul one but this is a factory or at least depot-level job that the average jihadist is unlikely to be able to duplicate in the basement of the local mosque. Congressman Steve Israel says the U.S. government should buy it too. Israel is sponsoring legislation that would outfit all 6,800 commercial airliners with the system at a cost of more than 10 billion dollars. âThese corporate CEOâs understand that shoulder fired missiles are one of the most glaring vulnerabilities that we have in our air travel. If CEOâs on private jets are entitled to protection and President Bush and Vice President Cheney and members of congress are entitled to protection I believe that everybody that gets on a plane is entitled to the same protectionâ says Congressman Israel. Steve is onto something. In fact, given the hazards of commercial travel, I think everyone is entitled to a private jet. Pony up, taxpayers. Bloomberg Financial would not comment on itâs jets, and the mayors office declined to comment citing security issues. The idea of using passive anti-missile devices is gaining momentum. Less than two weeks ago, El Al, Israelâs national airline, announced it would begin testing a new anti-missile system this June. And last Thursday, Congressman Israelâs bill to install the equipment on commercial planes, moved through the house aviation subcommittee. Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy 2004-05-05 |
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